Annals and Antiquities of Rajasthan, or the Central and Western Rajput States of India v1.c20.s6.t1.1

v1.c20.s6.t1.1

The palace on the lake (covering about four acres), called the Jagniwas, is entirely his work, as well as many additions to its sister isle, on which is the Jagmandir.² Nothing but marble enters into their composition ; columns, baths, reservoirs, fountains, all are of this material, often inlaid with mosaics, and the uniformity pleasingly diversified by the light passing through glass of every hue. The apartments are decorated with historical paintings in water-colours, almost meriting the term fresco from their deep absorption in the wall, though the darker tints have blended with and in part obscured the more delicate shades, from atmospheric causes. The walls, both here and in the grand palace, contain many medallions, in considerable relief, in gypsum, portraying the principal historical events of the family, from early periods even to the marriage pomp of the present Rana. Parterres of flowers, orange and lemon groves, intervene to dispel the monotony of the buildings, shaded by the wide-spreading tamarind and magnificent evergreen khirni;³ while the graceful palmyra and coco wave their plume-like branches over the dark cypress or cooling plantain. Detached colonnaded refectories are placed on the water's edge for the chiefs, and extensive baths for their use. Here they listened to the tale of the bard, and slept off their noonday opiate amidst the cool breezes of the lake, wafting delicious odours from myriads of the lotus-flower which covered the surface of the waters; and as the fumes of the potion evaporated, they opened their eyes on a landscape to which not even its inspirations could frame an equal: the broad waters of the Pichola, with its indented and well-wooded margin receding to the terminating point of sight, at which the temple of Brahmpuri opened on the pass of the gigantic Aravalli, the field of the exploits of their forefathers. Amid such scenes did the Sesodia princes and chieftains recreate during two generations, exchanging the din of arms for voluptuous inactivity.